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As Good As It Gets

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Simply the most beautiful and moving movie that stemmed from the "réalisme poétique" movement. A truly atemporal story, despite the resistance allusions which can live long after the end of WWII.What makes me really love this movie is the contrast between the very dated conventions of acting, the seemingly slow pace that was the rule at a time the video clips were still waiting in an unforeseeable future and the perfect consistency of the characters and psychology. The emotion is still intact no matter how much the way actors and directors are supposed to convey it has changed over decades.What a bunch of great actors! True professionals working seamlessly together to serve a masterly written script. I really advise non-french speaking people to watch it in original version with subtitles, to enjoy the music of Prevert's poetic lines.This movie is a real gem.

The beauty of this stand-out collaboration between Jacques Prevert and Marcel Carne - in the middle of their great hitting streak - is that it works even without the 'coded' references which were a necessity at a time of German Occupation in France. So even when you watch Jules Berry as just the Devil and not a symbol for Hitler and likewise view the two visitors not as symbols of the Resistance but merely two wandering minstrels it still plays and you'll go a long way to find a more poetic image/symbol than Prevert's finale in which the Devil turns the lovers to stone before our eyes yet their hearts keep on beating. Not least of the pleasures on offer is future icon Simone Signoret as an extra but the whole schmeer, complete with some tasty lyrics by Prevert, is a total delight. 8/10

It's the only Carné-Prévert movie that takes place in another era,the Middle Ages.During the German occupation,it was an alibi:the Devil was meant to represent Hitler and the two lovers the Resistance.But for the people at the time,their hints at French plight were so disguised -or else,it would have been banned by the censorship-,they only saw the escapist movie which they did need.Over the years,the movie has lost some of its charms:after a brilliant introduction,the pace remains too slow and it's hard to believe that Alain Cuny and Marie Déa are eaten with desire.As always in Carné's movies,it's the supporting cast that walks out with the honors:Arletty is as splendid as ever in her androgynous beauty,and Jules Berry is ideally cast as the Devil.Though it remains inferior to "le jour se lève" and "les enfants du paradis" ,"les visiteurs du soir" is a curiosity for French movies buffs.People who like it should see "l'éternel retour",a collaboration between Jean Delannoy and Jean Cocteau.NB :"Children of paradise " also takes place in another era ,the nineteenth century;sorry.

Here is a fine production by Julien Duvivier.I had the impression to be one of the castle's festivity and the arrival of the "Visiteurs" added a mysterious ingredient that had, at the beginning at least, nothing of the despair that was part of their demoniacal mission.The enchantment provoked by the satanic couple was a pure wonder. That momentary paralysis of a whole small world between two exciting scenes emphasized Arletty's and Cuny's masterly talent.Jules Berry's play (the Devil) was so fascinating that it made me longing for a ticket to Hell.That high class "fantasia" glide far over all those easy big budget "fantastic" productions which flood the film fans since too long.